Silence
by AddUsernameHere
Summary: No one knew. No one would care, anyway, even if he did tell them. Because no one never cared. Never did, never would. So he tried to hide it, tried to disguise the pain he was feeling with a mask. But one day, all his secrets would come tumbling out. And when they did, it wouldn't be pretty. Warnings: Self harm, mentions of rape and abuse in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Egad! I'm writing four fics at once now, since I had the idea for this one and had to write it. Aren't I clever?**

**This is going to end up fairly long. It's not a humour, I doubt it'll be a romance, and it's very angst-y. Just to let you know.**

**Warnings: Self-harm, mentions of rape and abuse in later chapters**

**Disclsimer: As much as I wish it did, Beyblade does not belong to me.**

* * *

A wave of dizziness passed over him, almost throwing him off balance. Clutching the table, he massaged his temples, trying to regain his footing. These dizzy spells had been happening a lot lately. Oh, well. They were probably nothing.

Blinking furiously, the boy slowly stood up straight, dreading the oncoming headache he was certain to get. Yep, there is was: like a marching band inside his head, beating the drums angrily. And it would remain until he could find the strength to shake it off.

He heard muffled voices approach the door, sounding excited and happy. Sighing, he closed his eyes as the migraine at last faded away, awaiting the screams and cries of his friends as they excitedly told him about their day.

* * *

"And then he actually fell off the bench!" Tyson giggled, clutching his glass of lemonade like he was holding onto his life. Hilary nodded, chuckling, while Kenny went bright red with embarrassment.

"Well, at least I didn't get kicked out the cafe!" The chief defended himself, scowling at Tyson, who just waved and grinned cheerfully.

"Ladies, ladies, you're both pretty. There's no need for these petty arguments." Hilary butted in, trying to calm the two boys. They both glared at her (although Kenny's glare wasn't as dark), annoyed she had labelled them 'ladies'.

"Seriously though, it was a great fair. There was a roller coaster and everything." Max said excitedly.

"Anyway, why didn't you come, Tala?" Kenny questioned, delicately sipping his glass of orange juice. Tala blinked at him, before registering what the young boy had said.

"Didn't feel well." He shrugged, diverting his eyes to the floor, hoping Kenny wouldn't see through his lie.

"Why didn't you say? You're not gonna start puking everywhere... Right?" Tyson narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Tala scoffed at the boy opposite him.

"No, Tyson. I'm fine. Where's Kai and Bryan?"

"Kai went upstairs as soon as he stepped through the door. Bryan stopped off at a shop with Spencer. Ian's in the garden, probably with Daichi and Kevin." Max explained, ticking off each person on his fingers.

Tala rolled his ice blue eyes, annoyed that he was left alone with the most infuriating people in all of existence.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" He was distracted from his thoughts of loathing and hatred when Ray entered the room, smiling kindly. Typical Ray. Always happy.

"Nothing much. You?" Tyson said, twisting around on his chair to face his friend.

"Kevin's running around tearing the grass up, Lee's shouting at him, Mariah's somewhere unknown. Apart from that, pretty good. You?" The neko-jin explained, still smiling even though he looked tired.

"Just talkin', you know. Tala doesn't feel well." Tyson said. His last comment caused Tala to shift his eyes onto the back of Tyson's head.

"I'm fine Tyson. Just shut up." The redhead mumbled before hiding his face in his hands, a gesture which highlighted the fact that he wasn't at all 'fine'.

"No, you're not. You look really pale. Do you want to, I don't know, lie down or something?" Hilary asked, placing a hand on Tala's back.

The Russians reaction was unexpected: he jerked away from Hilary's light touch as if she had just branded him with a burning piece of metal, his eyes widening in what seemed like fear. Hilary didn't know what to do; she just stood there, frowning, before lamely dropping her hand back down at her side.

"No. I'm fine. Stop fussing." Tala insisted, blinking at the floor. Tyson and Max exchanged confused glances while Kenny narrowed his eyes from beneath his fringe.

"If you say so. Just... Let us know of you're going to hurl, 'kay?" Rai smiled reassuringly, before disappearing into the hallway.

Suddenly, a shout of 'No, Kevin!' came from the garden, followed by a loud crash. Tyson sighed, standing up to check out the damage. Max followed him, and after a few seconds Kenny and Hilary decided to join as well. Leaving Tala alone at the kitchen table. Finally.

"Idiots." The wolf muttered, carefully laying his head on the hard wood. They were really frustrated him; as if they actually cared about whether he was okay or not. It wasn't his choice that he had to stay with them for a few days, but he certainly didn't want to interact with them. He preferred being alone.

"Dying or something, Ivanov?" A sudden voice made him jump, but he tried not to show it. Turning his head slightly so he could see who it was, he discovered that Kai had decided to emerge from his bedroom, otherwise known as the Deep Dark Lair.

"Oh. It's you." Tala muttered, burying his head in his arms yet again. Kai growled and walked over to him, and was about to push him off his chair or something, but stopped at the last second.

"Where's the others?" He asked, looking around, a frown of confusion on his face.

"Saving Kevin from certain doom." Tala replied, sitting up and rubbing his face with his hands in an attempt to banish his exhaustion.

"Huh?"

"Doesn't matter."

Raising his eyebrows, Kai walked over to the kitchen cupboard, examining it's contents.

"I'm making noodles. Want some?" He retrieved a packet of the Chinese food from the back of the cupboard, looking at the back of the wrapper.

"No thanks." Tala said, looking out of the kitchen window. Sure enough, there were patches of mud where grass once grew, and even a few smashed ornaments here and there. He couldn't see any of the others, though.

"Whatever." Kai tipped the noodles into a pan of water to cook them, before bending down in front of the hob to heat the pan up.

"It's the third dial, dumbass." Tala explained, smirking at the look of embarrassment on his friends face.

"Hn." The Phoenix grunted. "Why're you looking so down, anyway?"

"I'm not. Just tired. Can't wait to leave this place." Tala sighed.

"We're going to be here for at least another month yet, so you better get used to it." That remark made Tala nearly choke on the air he was inhaling.

"A month?! What? Why?" He demanded, clenching his fists angrily. Kai looked at him, surprised at his outburst.

"Mr D hasn't sorted out our homes yet. That's why." He simply explained before turning his back on his friend, stirring the noodles.

Tala gawped at the kitchen table. He thought that he only had to stay here for a couple of weeks, at most! But a whole month? He'd go crazy.

The White Tigers, the G-Revolutions and his team, the Blitzkreig Boys, were staying together in a house in Japan after Tyson's win against Brooklyn. Of course he didn't want to, but he didn't really have much choice: they had no other home to go to.

During the Tag Team Tournament and the revolution against BEGA, himself and his team had been staying in a hotel, courtesy of the BBA. But now that was over, he couldn't really stay there anymore- so it was this, or nowhere. And the second option was very inviting.

"Bryan and Spencer are back." Tala said, hearing them walk through the front door. The two Russians appeared in the doorway a few seconds later, clutching carrier bags full of groceries.

"You've been shopping?" Kai asked, amazed. Bryan and Spencer never shopped. It just didn't happen.

"Yeah. We figured the food and stuff would disappear quickly, especially with Tyson around. And we were running low on a few things already." Spencer explained, setting the bags on the table, nearly hitting Tala in the process.

"Fair enough." Kai said, pouring his noodles onto a plate, burning himself in the process.

"Ooh, noodles. Can I have some?" Bryan asked, eyeing up the plate of steaming gold on Kai's plate.

"Yeah, sure. I've done loads." The bluenette allowed, getting three forks out of the cutlery draw. He handed one of them to Spencer, another to Bryan, and kept one himself.

"Doesn't Tala want any?" Spencer asked looking at the wolf, who still had his face hidden in his arms.

"No. 'Cause he's anorexic and everything." Bryan prodded Tala in the back, frowning when the redhead flinched.

"I'm not, Bryan. Shut up." Tala mumbled, his voice thick with exhaustion.

"What's wrong with Mr Shitface, anyway?" Bryan asked, chewing on a mouthful of noodles hungrily. Spencer smirked when he burnt his tongue.

"Call me that again, Bryan, and it won't be just your tongue that'll be burning." Tala threatened, earning an eye-roll from Kai and Spencer. The four of them were silent for five minutes, eating noodles and sleeping on the table (in Tala's case) before they were interrupted by the others running in.

"Kevin, if I see you anywhere near a rake ever again, I'll nail you to the floor. You're lucky that Ian wasn't standing behind you." Lee said sternly, walking ahead of a very sorry-looking Kevin.

"Yes, Lee. Sorry Ian." He mumbled guiltily, looking at the floor. "I promise that- ooh, noodles!"

Chuckling softly, Ray appeared in the doorway, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"You can't stay angry at him, Lee. Just look at him." He grinned at his teammate, who was staring at the food with puppy-dog eyes.

"I certainly can, Ray. He could have killed Ian, or at the very least injured him. The poor boy is probably traumatised." Lee said, smiling softly at Ian.

"Actually, I'm fine. It was a blast. Can I have noodles, too?" The snake shrugged, also looking at the plate. Lee sighed, defeated.

"Yeah, whatever. It's about tea time, anyway, I suppose." As he busied himself making noodles with Ray's help, Daichi and Ian had a conversation about what Pokemon was the best. Everyone else either ignored them or joined in with the argument, and by the time tea was ready, they were starving.

"Oh damn. I forgot to make some for you. Sorry Tala, I'll do it now." Lee cursed himself, reaching up to grab another packet.

"No, it's okay. I'm not hungry." Tala quickly said, sitting up straight.

"You have to eat, Tala. You've not ate anything today." Kai frowned. Spencer nodded in agreement.

"Please. I'm really not hungry. I... I don't feel well." The redhead mumbled, desperate to get out of the situation. Unfortunately, he had said the wrong thing.

"See! I knew you were feeling ill! Don't try to deny it, Tala, because you just admitted it." Tyson cried triumphantly.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked. He tried to place a hand on Tala's forehead, but the wolf jerked away, like he had done with Hilary before. Hilary noticed this and tilted her head slightly, puzzled.

"Just a headache. I'll live." Tala said, turning his head away and looking at the table.

"You sure?" Spencer, caring as ever, asked. Tala looked at him.

"I'm fine. Now, if you'll excuse me." He pushed himself up, gripping the edge of the table. Fortunately, no one noticed his unsteadiness.

Before anyone could say anything he walked out of the room, resisting he urge to hold his head. At least that hadn't been a lie. He really did have a headache.

Once in his bedroom, he finally allowed his muscles to relax. He crumpled to the floor, cradling his pounding head in his hands. He wasn't even in his bed; he was lying on the cold carpet, but by then he didn't have the strength to push himself up. It wasn't long until he passed out

* * *

In his nightmare, he was running. He didn't know what from, he didn't know what to; all he knew was that he was running. Always running.

Even unconscious, he still felt the pain he had to put up with every waking second. Mental pain, agony, memories. But he also felt physically pain too. But that pain was a good type of pain.

And when he was found a few hours later, still on the floor of his bedroom, he didn't wake up as he was carefully lifted into his bed. He didn't stir as his bed covers were delicately wrapped around him. He continued to sleep as his friend softly kissed the top of his head and left the room.

When he would wake up, he would have to face the day again. Another day of pain, fear. But for now he was asleep. And running. Always running.

* * *

**Such a massive mystery as to who the first and last bits are about, right? No? ...Okay. I'm cool with that.**

**Please review, and I need your opinions: should there be romance or not? And, if so, what pairing? The only pairings I'd rather not do are KaiXTyson, KaiXHilary and RayXBryan. Just saying.**

**Yeah, so please R&R.**


	2. Chapter 2

**No school today, so I decided to update. This chapter is a little shorter than the first one, and it's really bad. Nothing much happens until the very end bit... But I uploaded it anyway. Hope it's not too bad.**

**love-sunny88: Yaaay! First review! Thank you!**

**Warnings & disclaimer: see chapter 1**

* * *

Daylight tortured his closed eyes, making him groan as he rose to consciousness. His eyelids fluttered open and closed instantly when the light pierced his retinas. What time was it? What day was it? What year was it?

Using the edge of his bed for support, the boy slowly sat up straight, wincing as yet another headache hammered inside his skull. But, like the one before, and the one before that, and the one before that: he ignored it.

Limbs protesting painfully, he swung his legs out of his bed, knowing that sooner or later he'd have to get up and face the day.

But before that, though, an urgent trip was required. He grabbed the small bag hidden under his bed, grimacing as his fingers brushed against a pointed corner, and made his way to the bathroom. His life support, the thing that kept him sane was in that bag. His only comfort.

And the pain helped.

* * *

The sickening scent of bacon wafted into his nostrils, the overwhelming stench making his stomach churn. Pressing his lips together, he entered the kitchen, which was alive with talking and shouting.

"Tyson! That was my sausage!" An annoyed voice cried out.

"Well, you can have it back if you want."

"Close your mouth Tyson! Ewww!" Another voice demanded. Tala guessed that it was Mariah's, as it sounded very girly and whiny. Not that he was stereotyping or anything.

"Oh hey, Tala. Bacon?" Ray asked, seeing the wolf lurking in the doorway, trying to remain unseen.

"No. Thank you." He added as an afterthought, not wanting to seem rude. True, he hated the idiots he lived with, but Ray was okay. At least he wasn't ridiculously annoying.

"Still got a headache?" Spencer asked, frowning at his friend. Tala flinched, remembering that he was meant to be sick. Well, he wasn't entirely pretending; his head did hurt.

"Yeah. I'm not hungry, anyway." He shrugged off the question, praying that no more questions were asked.

"But you've not ate since... I don't even know. I don't want you to pass out or something." Spencer wouldn't let the subject go, narrowing his eyes at Tala.

"Like you did last night." A voice said. Tala blinked, looking at Bryan, who was sat on the work top glaring at a piece of toast.

"What?" The room had fallen silent at Bryan's previous comment. Spencer was looking extremely puzzled, glancing between Tala and Bryan.

"Nothing. Carry on." Bryan muttered, looking at the floor. The volume level slowly rose, Tyson and Max continuing their fight over the food, Daichi spearing sausages violently, Kenny the only one actually eating sensibly. The White Tigers were spread around the room drinking milk and washing dishes.

Tala turned around to exit the room, but at the last minute glanced Bryan. Grey eyes locked onto blue ones, and Tala gulped fearfully. So that was how he ended up in bed.

Breaking the ice cold glare, the falcon continued to glare at his toast. Tala spun on his heel and walked swiftly out of the kitchen, not giving his friends a second glance.

Bad idea. That sudden movement left him feeling dizzy, again. Squeezing his eyes shut, the wolf prepared to hit the floor, but a pair of hands wrapped themselves around his middle, holding him close.

"I'm not stupid, Tala. Tell me what's wrong." Bryan demanded, his voice surprisingly soft. Tala sighed. Giving up on trying to regain his balance, he collapsed against Bryan's arms, legs finally giving up on him.

"I... I can't." He whispered timidly. There was silence for a few seconds before Bryan spoke again.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll hate me. Like everyone hates me." Tala felt Bryan tense his muscles.

"No. No, Tala, I won't. I could never hate you. Now tell me." The falcon said, still supporting his friend.

"Not yet. Just... Please. Let it go. I can't tell you. Not yet." Another silence. Another sigh.

"I'm worried about you." Bryan admitted, loosening his grip on his friend slightly when he realised his breaths were raspy and laboured.

"Don't be. Trust me, I'm okay." Tala insisted, standing up now his strength was back. Bryan exhaled, but let the matter slide. For now.

Suddenly, the phone rang, breaking the silence. Kevin shot out of the kitchen to answer it, but Lee got there first. Fortunately.

"Hello? Mr Dickinson?" Tala and Bryan frowned, confused. Why was Mr D calling them?

"Of course. See you then. Goodbye." Lee put the phone back on the table, ignoring Kevin's whines.

"What was that all about?" Tyson asked, emerging from the kitchen, chewing on a sausage.

"Mr D called. Guys? Mr Dickinson is coming round with some important news, so tidy all your shit up!" Lee yelled into the kitchen, eyes widening at the mess. There was even bacon on the ceiling.

"On second thoughts, just tape the kitchen off. With hazard tape." Lee backed away from the kitchen as of it contained some kind of deadly disease. Bryan smirked.

"You used it all yesterday, taping up the shed. Remember?" The falcon smirked, crossing his arms. Lee sighed tiredly, took a deep breath, and entered the kitchen.

"Brave boy. Doesn't know what he's let himself into." Bryan shook his head, sounding like he pitied the neko-jin.

"His own fault." Tala rolled his eyes, flopping down on the living room sofa. Bryan sat down next to him, looking at the wolf from the corner of his eye.

"That's it. I quit. I'm an through with dealing with those... Those... Animals!" Lee gasped, staggering out of the kitchen, covered in egg and bacon and something unidentifiable.

"You look healthy." Bryan grinned, entertained at Lee's discomfort.

"I'm taking a shower." The lion said, running his hands through his hair. Tala and Bryan smirked.

"Wonder why Mr D's coming round."

"No clue. Probably some beyblade thing."

"Probably." Bryan agreed. A sudden knock on the door broke the silence.

"He's here already?!" Hilary shrieked, speed walking to the front door. A gust of cold wind blew in as she opened it, giving Tala goose bumps.

"Hello, Mr Dickinson, and Garland too." Hilary greeted kindly, inviting them both in.

"Garland? Why's he here?" Tyson shouted from inside the kitchen.

Tala bit his bottom lip. He hadn't seen any of BEGA since he had awoken from his coma.

"You'll be fine." Bryan comforted his friend, sensing his distress. Tala just nodded.

"Hello everybody! I just have a few questionnaires for you to fill out, just so you can qualify for the next tournament." Mr Dickinson said cheerfully, a huge grin on his aged face. Garland stood behind him, not looking particularly happy.

"Hey, Mr D! Why's Garland here?" Tyson said as everyone walked into the front room. Spencer discretely shut the kitchen door, hiding the scene of mass destruction.

"I am dropping Garland home to his friends, but I thought I'd get this over and done with first." Mr Dickinson explained, retrieving a stack of papers from the briefcase he was carrying. He was about to pass them around, but a yell made him stop in his tracks.

"YOU SON OF A-" Ian charged towards Garland and flung himself onto the shocked boy.

"YOU PUT TALA IN HOSPITAL, SO I'LL PUT YOU IN HOSPITAL!" Ian yelled, thrashing out at a very surprised-looking Garland.

"Ian!" Spencer shouted loudly. Ian froze, in the process of stopping Garland's ponytail off, and looked at Spencer.

"What? He deserves it!" The snake pouted. Spencer glared at him.

"Fine. I'll get off him. But just remember, Spencer, it wasn't YOU who tried to get revenge. It was ME." Ian huffed and stormed away, leaving Garland on the floor.

"Garland! Are you okay?" Mariah cooed as the griffin regained his footing and brushed himself off.

"Yeah. Just a cut lip." He timidly wiped the bead of blood that was slowly making it's way down his chin.

"Come here." Everyone turned in astonishment to Tala, who held a tissue in his hand. Before he could complain, he pressed the white material to Garland's lip.

"Sorry I put you in a coma." Garland mumbled guiltily.

"I'm over it. I like to think of it as a month-long sleep." Tala shrugged. Garland chuckled softly.

As Tala tended to Garland's lip, Mr Dickinson handed the forms around to everyone.

"You'll live." Tala eventually said, examining his patient, before binning the bloody tissue.

"Here's yours then, Tala." Mr Dickinson smiled, passing Tala the sheet of paper.  
As everyone quietly filled their forms in, Tala stared at the sheet in front of him.

Most of the questions were simple enough, like 'What is your full name' and 'what is your date of birth'. But one question caught his eye: 'what are the names of your parents?'

What should he put? He never knew his parents. They were both killed just a few days after he was born.

Scribbling N/A, Tala threw his form angrily onto the table. Bryan looked at him, instantly understanding what he was annoyed about.

"I need to go upstairs." Tala muttered, shoving past whoever blocked the doorway. Another headache was coming on. And he needed to be alone.

* * *

Tears dripped down his face as he knelt down in front of the toilet, fingers stroking the cold piece of metal in his hand. He knew he shouldn't. He knew Bryan and Kai and Spencer would hate him if they found out. Yet he did it anyway. He had to.

Red filled his vision. The pain stung, of course it did, but it was meant to. After all, wasn't that the whole idea? Wasn't that the intention? He wouldn't do it otherwise... Right?

He hated himself. The amount of self-loathing built up in his head over the course of the day, and the only time he could let it out was when he was alone. But today it had pushed him over the edge, the question about his parents had made him snap. So he let his hate out the only way he could.

A pattern of red scratches decorated the insides of his arms. He knew he was crazy. He knew it wasn't normal. But he continued, the razor blade slicing through his skin.

Not deep enough to kill him, though. Never deep enough to kill him. Because suicide was the easy way out. And if he was dead, he wouldn't be able to cause himself pain, would he? So, so much pain. But pain was a good thing. It reminded him that he was still alive. Still a person.

His body shook, racked with sobs. He wanted to stop. But at the same time, he didn't. The pain was a way out of the torturous life he lived.

Blood dripped on the floor, dripped down his arms. It hurt so much. Yet he did it anyway.

Because he had to.

* * *

**Aww poor Tala! DON'T WORRY BABY! YOU'LL BE OKAY!**

**Everyone: but you're the one writing it?**

**Me: ... Heh...**

**So... What's bothering Tala? The next chapter is when things will get a lot more dramatic. And some answers! FINALLY!**

**Please R&R! Remember, I still need your romance pairing opinions! (See chapter 1)**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter is slightly shorter than the others, and I warn you, it's not particularly good... I had no idea what to do. I didn't want to rush straight into everyone finding out etc, so this chapter isn't very dramatic. You have been warned.**

**LupaCaerulea: Thank you! Hehe that sounds like something I would say... And here's the next chapter. But see above. Seriously.**

**Darkmidnightmoon: Thanks for reviewing! And don't worry; I'll make everything turn out fine in the end! I love Tala too much for there to be any other ending. **

**Warnings & disclaimer: In some other chapter. Can't be bothered to type them.**

* * *

He sat in his room, lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Excited chatter from downstairs reached his ears, even though the door was closed. They sounded so happy. An emotion that was alien to him.

Thoughts and memories ran through his head, however hard he tried to banish them. The crack of a whip. The cry of pain. The sound of a young boy begging for mercy, mercy that was never granted.

However hard he tried to push the torturous images from his mind, they would always stay, growing more vivid every second. It was like having a nightmare whilst awake. And the memories also came with an agonising pain in his heart, which always resulted in yet another headache.

How he hated those migraines. They followed him everywhere: in bed, in the shower, especially around other people. But he never told anyone though. That would just arouse questions, and questions would most likely cause him to break down. They always had.

And he was so close to telling Bryan everything, so close to cracking. But he hadn't. He had managed to hold himself together.

No one suspected anything. They never caught on to the fact that he never smiled anymore, never laughed, never ate, never talked unless spoken to. He liked it that way. He liked being alone.

Because when he was alone, he could deal with the problems in his way. The way that worked. The way that reminded him that he, Tala Ivanov, was still a person.

Still a human being.

* * *

"So. Tala. How's your day been?" Ray attempted to start a conversation. It was just the two of them in the (now clean) kitchen, as everyone else were out somewhere. It was a sunny day, therefore Tyson had insisted on going to the nearby beach. Practically everyone wanted to go too, and those who didn't were in the garden. Except for Tala and Ray.

Tala had managed to drag himself down from his bedroom since he had told everyone he was just going to the toilet. No one had gave him a second glance fortunately, and now he was in his usual position of resting his head on the table, arms crossed around him. He didn't care about Ray; he wasn't the type of person who would suspect anything out of the ordinary. He was too nice.

"Mm." Tala mumbled, willing Ray to shut up. He had a headache and just wanted to fall asleep. There was silence for a few seconds before Ray spoke again.

"Enjoying the sun?"

Tala sighed. Why wouldn't he take the hint, and take a hike? As if it wasn't already obvious by his monotone answer last time, he wanted to be _alone_.  
"Mm." He didn't have any patience for this. He was feeling even worse than usual, and just wanted to curl up and fall asleep.

"Tala... Are you awake?" Oh _god_. He was even dumber than Tala though. Pushing himself up from the table with shaking arms, the redhead decided to disappear upstairs again. Ray could be on his own.

Said neko-jin frowned as Tala's usually pale complexion whitened even further. He heard the wolf breath out sharply, then inhale deeply. Like he was taking deep breaths.

Tala noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ray was staring at him. He plastered on what he hoped has his best glare and spun around, preparing to leave the room.

What he didn't consider, however, was the kitchen table. He scraped his hip on the corner and cried out in pain, clutching his side. He could feel his legs buckling. Head rushing.

"Tala!" A strong arm wrapped around the Blitzkrieg Boy's waist, stopping him from crashing to the floor. Tala fisted his hands in his hair, his muscles tensed, gasping.

"Move." He growled, recoiling at Ray's touch. Why couldn't the idiot just let him fall? He had to step in, didn't he?

Regaining his footing, Tala pushed away from Ray and scowled at him, wrapping his arms around his stomach. The tiger just looked at him, mouth slightly open.  
"Tala... You're so _thin!_ Like, unnaturally thin! What-" he was cut off by Tala pinning him up against the wall.

"Don't you DARE say anything Kon, or I will kill you. Understand?" He pressed his face close to Ray's, snarling.

"But-"

"I said: understand?" Tala growled threateningly. Ray gulped and nodded, not wanting to make Tala angry.

"What's going on here?" A voice asked. Tala turned his head, seeing Spencer standing in the doorway, arms akimbo. He didn't look particularly amused.

"Nothing." Tala backed away from Ray, still glaring at the frightened neko-jin. He shot Spencer a glance and went to walk through the doorway, but Spencer grabbed his arm at the last minute.

"Tala. What is it?" The tall blonde asked, looking down at his friend.

"Leave me _alone!_" Pushing Spencer away from him, Tala stormed off, slamming the door behind him.

Ray stared, eyes wide, at both Russians. Odd, how Tala didn't seem so affected by his fellow teammates touch... Probably a friend thing. Most likely.

"Ray... Are you alright? What happened?" Spencer frowned at the confused-looking tiger.

"I... I just said something that offended him a bit..." Ray stammered, glancing around the room nervously. He knew that if he told Spencer what had happened, Tala would murder him.

"What was it?" Spencer asked.

"I... I forgot." Spencer frowned at him, not believing a word he said. But he let the matter slide anyway.

Pressing his lips together, Ray started fiddling with the end of his ponytail. Well this was... Awkward.

"AAARRRGGGHHH!" Well, you could always rely on Daichi as a distraction. He came running into the room screaming his head off, waving his arms around. Tyson entered after him, and the expression on the dragons face wasn't a happy one.

"Daichi, get your sorry butt back here NOW!" The navy-haired teen yelled, chasing Daichi around the room.

"Whoa, slow down!" Spencer said, dodging the two shorter boys. Ray had to hide the smirk that was threatening to appear on his face.

On their third lap of the room, Daichi tripped over a rug and went sprawling in the floor. Tyson didn't have time to slow down, and fell as well, forcing a grunt out of a very injured Daichi.

"WHAT is happening here?" Someone shouted. The smirk now evident on his face, Ray glanced to see who it was. Kai.

"I turn my back for ONE second and you decide to kill each other? May I ask why?" The phoenix demanded. Both boys lying on the floor turned to him, red in the face.

"HE splashed me!" Tyson stated, pointing at Daichi.

"HE pushed me over!" Daichi said, pointing back at Tyson.

"You're all total idiots." Yet another voice said, this one belonging to Bryan. As it had started to rain slightly, those who went to the beach had decided to come home (not including Bryan, as he had refused to go to some 'idiotic, pointless social thing'; he had just came in from the garden) and the house was full once more.

"Where's Talalalala?" Ian asked, stretching out his friends name, as he knew the wolf hated it.

"Upstairs." Spencer answered. Ian rolled his eyes and strode out of the room.

"Thus concludes our daily conversation with carrot nose." Bryan muttered, taking a seat in the leather armchair and switching on the television.

"And you two, I'd get of the floor if I were you. Kevin spilt some tomato sauce right on that spot." Bryan added, surfing through the channels.

"Ewww!" Tyson and Daichi cried simultaneously, standing up as soon as they heard the news.

"Silly little children." Spencer muttered, rolling his eyes. The whale moved over to Ray and started filling up the sink with hot water, preparing to do the washing up. Spencer Petrov: house keeper and peace keeper. They'd be nothing without him.

"Wow, Spence, harsh words." Kai said, leaning against the door frame. Spencer just ignored him and carried on squirting washing up liquid in with the water, gently mixing it with his hand.

"Is there a reason why you're standing there, or...?" Bryan raised an eyebrow at Ray. The tiger started shuffling uncomfortably, before taking a step to the side.

"Leave him alone, Bryan. You don't have to be a jerk to everyone, you know." Spencer said, beginning to scrub dirty plates. Ray smiled, awkwardly backing out of the kitchen.

"It's okay. I'll just... Leave." He turned and walked quickly out, leaving three members of the Blitzkrieg Boys on their own. All the while thinking of Tala.

* * *

Crying. Something he scarcely did. Because what difference would it make? It didn't change anything, it didn't make anything better. So there was no point. No point at all.

Hiding his feelings was something he had perfected. Smile and wave, act okay, when inside he was screaming. Lungs burning, throat raw, screaming until the world turned black. And everything was always so much worse when it was black.

Colours were blinding. Blackness was unbearable. There was no way out. Never any way out.

A building. The same one that haunted him wherever he went, whatever he was doing, it's image branded into his mind. A name flashed before his eyes. The name which was carved into the old stone of the building. Two words. Two words which entered his nightmares every night.

_Bolkov Abbey._

He hardly ever cried. And when he did, if he did, it was because he couldn't handle the pain from that day. No matter how hard he tried.

Other than that, crying was something that he never allowed himself to do. Because that was the easy way out. It was better to bottle up his feelings and endure the agony in his heart, day after day, night after night.

Tala Ivanov hardly ever cried. There was no point.

No point at all.

* * *

**Yeah... I lied in the previous chapter. There were no answers in here, were there? But I dropped a few hints here and there, and there was that 'Bolkov Abbey' part at the end. So you've probably got an idea what's happening.**

**I have so much fun writing the first and last parts of each chapter, it's quite scary. But hey.**

**Please R&R!**

**Oh yeah, and I was thinking of doing something different next chapter, a songfic chapter. (With the first and last parts, obviously.) I'd like to know your thoughts, because I'm not sure if I should do it or not... And if I don't get any opinions, I'm just going to do it anyway.**

**Okay, seriously this time; byeeee! **


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